On and of the fairways

The chipper youngbeauty on the right, 26-year-old Barbara Romack, is one of two reasons why theLadies' Professional Golf Association can greet the 1959 season with realenthusiasm. This pretty blonde, who has won the Canadian Women's Open and theU.S. Women's Amateur, turned professional last month and will join the ladies'circuit in January.

Miss Romack swaysher shapely physique (5 feet 4 inches, 110 pounds) with sufficient zest toaverage 225 yards off the tee and, in joining the tour, will contribute a joltof sex appeal where it can do the most good.

"She's acolorful person and will be a great addition," says LPGA President MarilynnSmith. "Besides, she's a good golfer."

The other reasonwhy LPGA members can look forward to the new year with a cheerful skip andwhistle is that they will be competing for a record $200,000 in prize moneyover a program of 30 tournaments. This means the girls will be doing muchbetter than they did in the past year, and they have every intention of doingeven better in 1960.

The 15 leadingmoney winners for the complete 1958 season are listed below, as are the finalleaders in strokes-per-round averages. Also included below is a special SPORTSILLUSTRATED poll of 21 top women professionals, rating each other's abilitiesat various phases of the game. If the poll reveals nothing else, it proves thata woman is always a woman, even with a golf club in her hands. Beverly Hansonfinished a clear first in both money won and strokes per round, but the sewingcircle sort of sniffed and ignored her. Of 16 categories, Bev was rated amongthe best in only one. Of course, she took "most unappreciated" handsdown.

[This articlecontains a table. Please see hardcopy of magazine or PDF.]

The best at each phase of the gameA poll of the lady players themselves, with votes received

Before he became the premier postseason performer of his generation, the Patriots icon was a middling college quarterback who invited skepticism, even scorn, from fans and his coaches. That was all—and that was everything